Belgium - Michiel Haverkorn has been appointed as the new general manager of Philips Optical Lamps. In this role, Haverkorn will be responsible for Philips' Broadway lamps for the entertainment industry, and for the Focus Line range for various optical applications. Haverkorn joins Optical Lamps from Philips LCD Backlighting, where he held the position of general manager.

His predecessor Hans van Wijngaarde, will become global marketing and sales manager for Philips Special Lighting, with responsibility for the marketing and sales of UV Health & Wellness, InfraRed and Optical Lamps.

(Lee Baldock)

UK - Event freight specialist EFM, has appointed David Simmill as its new operations manager. Simmill, who has been involved with logistics operation for twelve years, is being brought in to support all four divisions of the company, working across the music, promotions, sports and exhibition logistics divisions to streamline current operations and develop new logistics channels.

Simmill's background includes overseeing a European network between 10 different offices, with complete responsibility for two UK offices. His experience spans air, ocean and road freight in the high profile automotive and aerospace industries.

"My move to EFM, as a company looking to develop, means an exciting time ahead," says Simmill. The diverse clients we work with, with a variety of challenges they each face put the company in a unique position to have the very best logistical faciliti

UK - Following significant growth over recent years, Baldwin Boxall Communications has appointed four new directors. Established in 1982 with just two staff members, the company has gone from strength to strength, and now employs around 50 people.

Nick Baldwin has been appointed marketing director. Previously employed as marketing manager, Nick has been with the company since 1999 and has been responsible for ensuring that the Baldwin Boxall remains the first name for VA. He also draws a good pint at Baldwin Boxall's very popular exhibition stand.

Neil Jarvis, working in the sales department since 1988, has been promoted from sales manager to sales director. Steve Reed, who has been working in the company's R&D office for over nine years and has seen the development of many new products, including the very popular CommuniCare range, becomes design director. Chris Trent becomes

USA - Martin Professional's International stage, studio and event segment manager, Mark Ravenhill, has relocated to Martin's US headquarters office in Florida from the Martin Danish headquarters. Ravenhill remains Martin's International segment manager for the SSE market, and retains overall global responsibility for the segment.

In other news, Peter Skytte has been named Martin's SSE chief product manager. He has been with the company for over ten years and has headed up Martin's service department for a number of years. Mark Ravenhill commented: "Peter's extensive knowledge of both our customers and our products represents an invaluable addition to the global SSE team for Martin. I am very pleased to welcome him to the department."

(Jim Evans)

USA - Martin Professional has announced that Brian Friborg is to take on the role of president of Martin Professional Inc. Friborg, a Dane with a wealth of industry experience, has been with Martin for six years as managing director of Martin Professional Scandinavia A/S. More recently he has also held the interim position of managing director for Martin Professional Italy S.p.a.

Friborg will work closely with Martin US vice-president of sales and marketing Eric Loader in establishing and overseeing execution of the strategic plan for Martin US, as well as promoting key business relationships. He looks forward to meeting Martin's US partners and customers at the upcoming LDI trade show in Orlando.

Martin's statement says: "Troels Volver has decided to seek new challenges outside of the company and resigns his post as CEO of Martin Professional Inc".

Christian Engst

UK - Tomcat UK has appointed Malcolm Davis as Europe sales representative. Davis comes to Tomcat UK with wide-ranging sales experience which he gained throughout the UK, Europe and Middle East at companies like Strand Lighting and Zero 88 Lighting where he was the distributor sales manager.

"I'm very encouraged as to the long term plans for Tomcat UK and excited at being given the opportunity to join them," commented Davis. "After being out of the industry for a while I'm looking forward to coming back and making an invaluable contribution to the future growth of the company."

(Lee Baldock)

UK - David Hopkins, chairman of Audio Design Services Limited was made President of the local Chamber of Commerce in Stockport in November 2005.A former Macclesfield Borough and Cheshire County Councillor, Hopkins was chairman of the Local TEC before it was merged into the Chamber of Commerce.

Current Treasurer of PLASA and its previous chairman, Hopkins, recently took over from Michael Leaver as the president of the Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers. Hopkins believes that the opportunity for a closer liaison between PLASA and the ISCE is long overdue and he is committed to training and the creation of meaningful standards so that career patterns can be established for the future of the industry. "The advent of stricter health and safety regulations, as well as the implications of WEEE and ROHS legislation, makes such ambitions a necessity," he says.

(J

UK - Academy Music Group (AMG) has appointed Carl Bathgate as General Manager of Carling Academy Birmingham. He joins AMG from Liverpool University Student Union where he has been promoter and entertainments manager for the last six years. He replaces Richard Maides, who has been promoted internally to the position of Group Operations Manager.

With the recent expansion of AMG's venue estate across the country, the latest being the 2,000 capacity Carling Academy Newcastle, Maides will work with operations director, Steve Forster to continue AMG's consistency of operations across the Group and maximise commercial potential and growth for each venue.

Commenting on the appointment, Steve Forster says, "Richard has successfully managed Birmingham for the last three and a half years and has proved he has the commitment and application necessary to work at an operational level.

USA - Wybron Inc has appointed Kara O'Grady as north-eastern sales manager. O'Grady has been involved in the lighting industry for 10 years, including spells as assistant lighting designer for The Opera Company of Philadelphia, and assistant master electrician for the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. In addition, she has a wide range of freelance work as a lighting designer and electrician in industrial and corporate events in addition to theatre and television.

Her sales experience has included sales work for Rosco Laboratories and Barbizon Capitol, and most recently as a manufacturer's representative for Fogel & Associates in New Jersey. Ron Fogel of Fogel & Associates says of Kara's appointment: "I am so very proud of Kara and couldn't be happier for her. Although it is bittersweet for all of us here, we support her decision and wish her great success with

USA - ESTA recently awarded the first Frank Stewart Volunteer of the Year Award, created to honor Frank's incomparable service to the Association over the last 18 years. This award recognizes extraordinary effort by a volunteer or group of volunteers during the previous year.

At ESTA's annual dinner on 10 November in Orlando, ESTA's past and current presidents gathered to honour the only Treasurer ESTA has ever had. Glenn Becker, ESTA's first President, told the assembled crowd: "For most of us, life, as we have become accustomed to, is about to end. Our Treasurer for Life is hanging up his Stetson and riding his motorcycle off into the sunset. Frank Stewart will be sorely missed. Frank is the epitome of what this Association stands for, the mutual benefit of its members. No one has volunteered more of his or her time, talents and personal funds than Frank Stewart. No one i

USA - Color Kinetics has announced some changes to its board of directors. William O'Brien, executive chairman of Enterasys Networks, has been elected to the company's board and audit committee, while director Elisabeth Allison has been named 'lead independent director'. At the same time, CK has announced that company co-founder George Mueller will step down as chairman, but remain a member of the company's board, with effect from 1 January 2007.

Mueller co-founded Color Kinetics in 1997 and served as chairman and CEO for eight years. He passed the CEO role to Bill Sims, now president and CEO, in 2005. Mueller comments: "I will remain active as chairman throughout 2006, and as a director thereafter. I am confident that the company's growth and future direction lie in exceptionally qualified hands. My role as an industry evangelist will continue, as LED technology progresses

UK - Cadac Electronics Plc has appointed Bob Thomas as its managing director with immediate effect, heading up the company as it expands its digital product base, alongside the acclaimed analogue range of Cadac live performance consoles. Formerly MD of TEAC (UK), Thomas now takes up this new post, as Clive Green formally retires after more than 37 years at the helm.

The appointment comes at an exciting time for Cadac, as Bob explains: "Throughout my audio career, I have known and respected Cadac products. Cadac is world famous for its sound quality and absolute commitment to putting audio performance before all else. It is therefore a great thrill to be invited by Clive Green to take over at a pivotal time for the company, with the first digital products now shipping in numbers and a ground breaking digital desk in advanced development. The prospect of leading one of the or

UK - Metway Electrical Industries Limited has announced the appointment of Ches Harding as business development manager covering the London area.

"Ches has a wide experience in the lighting industry, particularly within the lighting control and structured wiring system sectors," comments sales director, James Hughes. "His knowledge of these products, the market and the demands of installation projects places him in an excellent position to provide consultants and contractors with invaluable consultation and support."

Metway is a major supplier of structured wiring systems for commercial properties and has worked with many of the country's largest electrical contractors on a number of prestigious projects.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

UK - Barcelona pro-audio manufacturer Vieta has announced the signing of Mick Brophy as its new international sales and marketing director. Having worked part-time for the Vieta team last year, in the position of export sales consultant, Brophy is now making a full commitment to the Barcelona company, and will be moving to Spain next year.

Company manager Nacho Alberdi explained that the deal was the result of Brophy's impressive performances over the last 12 months, adding that his new team member's extensive experience on the international circuit would provide valuable rewards for Vieta in 2006. Brophy has, in the past, worked for Amek, Kling & Freitag and Garwood.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

UK - Chris King, the friendly face that's greeted visitors to White Light's base in Wimbledon for the last few years, is to retire in December after being with White Light for over sixteen years. He leaves White Light's Wimbledon base to escape the hustle-and-bustle of London for a calmer life in Devon.

As White Light's 'senior communicator' King is the cheerful voice that greeted telephone callers and, unlike the computerized systems favoured by so many organizations these days, welcomed regulars by name. He's put their call through to the appropriate team while figuring out how stressed they've sounded and greeted new callers as long-established friends, while working out which member of the company could best assist them.

A former car salesman, King first met White Light's co-founder and chairman John Simpson through their local amateur theatre company. He joined White Ligh

UK/USA - Solid State Logic, manufacturer of professional digital and analogue consoles, has announced several promotions in its U.S. based sales and service departments. The promotions have been made to strengthen the existing sales and service teams.

George Horton has been promoted to sales manager for the U.S. Western region, Mexico and South America. Horton moves over to sales after 16 years as an SSL service engineer and manager. His SSL career began at the company's UK headquarters; he then traveled the world as service engineer with brief stops in Singapore. Horton took over as SSL Los Angeles service manager in 1998. He will continue to work from the Los Angeles office, reporting to Phil Wagner, president, SSL Inc.

"We are extremely pleased to have George involved in Western U.S., Mexico and South American sales," commented Wagner. "George is an incredibl

UK - Shure Distribution UK gears up for its new marketing push with two new appointments to its marketing department. Uzo Onuora, formerly of international media monitoring agency, Romike, is now marketing manager of both Commercial and MI and Entertainment Divisions. Her primary role will be in the areas of market analysis and planning, which are the key skill she brings to Shure through her extensive knowledge and experience off print media analysis and public relations.

Faye Chang, in the newly created position of press and communications officer, will largely be responsible for press and external communications. Faye comes from the book publishing industry and brings with her 10 years' experiences of sales, promotions and publicity.

Further key additions to the Shure family are Anthony Short who recently joined Shure to take up the position of commercial area manager for t

Germany - Loudspeaker manufacturer Kling & Freitag (K&F) reports another successful business year, with a clear sales increase in both national and international markets contribuitng to the highest annual sales level in the company's history.

At the same time, the company has announced that the current managing director of the company, Michael Kinzel, will at his own request now continue in the position of the sales manager from 1 January 2006.

Kinzel, who has been at Kling & Freitag for six years, now wants to dedicate himself to his own professional passion, sales work, the company says. The 34-year-old has built up personal contact to numerous clients and is looking forward to expanding the international sales in co-operation with established and new partners.

Jürgen Freitag will now run the company as managing director, supported by the deputy managing director Wolfgang

UK - Amanda Chester has been appointed marketing communications manager at Harman Pro UK. Chester joins Harman from Digidesign, where she was UK marketing and PR executive. Prior to that she worked in the IT sector, including at business management software company, Hornbill Systems.

Chester will oversee the marketing and PR activity of the nine Harman Pro brands across seven vertical markets in the UK; JBL, Crown, BSS, AKG, Soundcraft, dbx, Lexicon, DOD, and HiQNet.

Commenting on the appointment, sales director Max Lindsay-Johnson, states: "Amanda brings with her a wealth of knowledge and ability, which will strengthen our current team."

(Chris Henry)

USA - Bolstering their managerial leadership and manufacturing ingenuity, Biamp Systems today announced that they have appointed Jim Nelson to the position of outsourcing and OEM manager. Effective immediately, Nelson will report to Bob Yeager, manufacturing and facilities manager, and will be responsible for overseeing contracted manufacturers as well as many of Biamp's subcomponents manufactured by OEMs.

"This is an important new position for Biamp and we felt that Jim's technical expertise made him the perfect candidate," said Yeager. "While we have a great deal of confidence in Jim's managerial skills, what impressed us was his technical and manufacturing background that we feel can be applied to our other manufacturing initiatives. Jim's dedication to his profession and thorough understanding of the industry will help us provide our customers and contract man

UK - RTS/Telex reports that Adrian Richmond has assumed responsibility as sales engineer throughout the UK for CCS. A member of the Institute of Broadcast Sound, Richmond is one of the most experienced and highly respected sound and broadcast experts in the UK, having worked as a sound supervisor for the both the BBC and ITV. His expertise covers all areas of sound technology including radio, TV, studio production, outside broadcasting, PSC, recording studios and video post production. In addition, he has a thorough command of digital and analogue mixing consoles, digital talkback systems and radio links. Most recently, Richmond worked as executive manager with responsibility for all areas of sound technology at the Anglia studio complex.

Nico Lewis, sales manager for Telex/RTS Intercom EAME, comments: "With his outstanding competence and first class contacts, Adrian Richmo

USA - Jeff Pelzl, VP of Worldwide Service for Texas-based lighting manufacturer High End Systems Inc, has been promoted to assume responsibility for worldwide sales, along with his current service role. Pelzl takes on the position held by Bill Morris, who will leave HES in late January. For the past 16 years, Pelzl has been supporting High End's customer base and is a familiar face and name to the entire industry.

HES CEO Frank Gordon commented, "Jeff is a natural for this job. He knows our technology, he knows the industry, but most importantly he knows our customers. For years, he has been an advocate for the customer and runs a very tight organization in terms of customer responsiveness."

Richard Belliveau, HES co-founder and CTO, added: "Jeff brings a great deal to this sales role in terms of understanding the core of the customer business. He also understan

UK - Star Events Group reports that Phil Broad, winner of several Rigger of the Year awards, is to relinquish his shares in Star Events Group and revert to self-employed status with immediate effect.

Broad was one of the founding partners of Star Rigging, which subsequently merged with Star Hire to form Star Events Group Ltd in 2003. Since then, he has been trying to balance the constant demand for his services at gigs with the increasing responsibility that came from running a division of the expanding Star Events Group. As there are not enough hours in the day to do both, he has opted to go back to working independently on his own projects, the company says.

Maddy Sheals, HR director for Star Events Group, told us: "It is clearly easier to find someone to manage a division of the company than to find another Phil Broad, and we'll be looking for a suitable manager in due

UK - Guy Horrigan has joined LED screen specialist displayLED, bringing with him more than eight years of experience in LED screen displays. Beginning his career with Invision, the UK's first giant screen manufacturer, he headed-up their stadium sales team who provided systems for Celtic FC, Aston Villa FC and Leeds United AFC. Following this, Horrigan joined Lighthouse where he developed AV rental and fixed installation markets in the UK and Europe. With a reputation for developing innovative commercial arrangements to assist customers' screen acquisitions; he has been involved in some of Europe's most prestigious projects.

Further career highlights include We Will Rock You musical installations in the UK, Cologne, Las Vegas and Australia, the npower Test Match Cricket screens and Reuters' new Head Office installation featuring two giant SMD video displays and a 102m lon

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